At the close of play on day two, assistant coach Paul Collingwood tried to put a positive spin on England’s woeful performance in the Hamilton Test to that point, suggesting that the tourists’ world-class batting line-up had the confidence to chase down any total New Zealand would set them. Such belief was entirely non-existent by the time the New Zealand innings came to an end 45 minutes before stumps on day three with England set a notional 658 to win. By the close of play England’s token world record attempt had progressed to 18-2.

To compound England’s misery, Ben Stokes had earlier limped off the field with a recurrence of the hamstring injury which led the England captain to miss four Tests at the back end of the English summer and into the winter. The previous evening, Collingwood was waxing lyrical about Stokes’ fitness. “It's great that he’s got his body back in to a place that he can bowl as many overs as he feels he needs to,” he said. “It’s a huge positive for us moving forward.” Hmm…

One prediction, however, which did come true for Collingwood was his claim that under-fire opener Zak Crawley was “ready to hurt someone”. In the final knockings on a disastrous day for England, Matt Henry dismissed Crawley yet again to complete his personal full-house and the England opener really was ready to hurt someone. Specifically, umpire Adrian Holdstock. The South African had tried to give Crawley out lbw in Henry’s first over but height was an issue, the decision overturned on review. Four overs later, Crawley was triggered by the same umpire and this time ball-tracking showed the ball to be clipping leg stump. A furious Crawley had to go. Earlier in the day Kane Williamson received a far more generous ‘umpire’s call’ reprieve which might explain the metaphorical steam leaving the England opener’s ears and the very real verbal tirade exiting his mouth.

"England’s policy has been to pick who they see as their most talented players, numbers be damned."

Given that, could Jacob Bethell's breakthrough series against New Zealand threaten Zak Crawley's place in the team?

READ: https://t.co/5VZSsioTYM pic.twitter.com/5rF5y2RXVz

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 12, 2024

It was an undignified end to what has been a torrid tour for Crawley. He totalled just 52 runs in the series, having been dismissed by Henry in every single innings. His average of 8.66 is the lowest of any England opener who has batted six times in a single series. Despite such troubling form, England batting coach, Marcus Trescothick, who was on media duty at the close, insisted Crawley was still their man at the top of the order. “We’re very much focused on him being the opening batter for a good period to come, we’ve seen the damage he does,” Trescothick said.

The argument that suggests Crawley is an undroppable matchwinner is fast becoming Rizla thin. He has one century in his last 45 innings and only four in his entire 52-Test career and now averages just 30.51. Going forward, his more impressive record against Australia (average 43.06) will be cited and no doubt keep him in the fold as England build to next year’s Ashes but his reaction to today’s dismissal suggests a man, who, despite all the faith put in him, is finally starting to feel the weight of pressure that consistent failure brings.

At the end of the week, Crawley will be delighted to board a plane and put 11,000 miles between himself and his nemesis Henry. “It’s challenging when it’s like this and someone gets you under the pump, it’s tough, but he’ll find a way and we’ll help him find a way,” Trescothick said. “You want to score runs every time you go out and play, one innings is bad, six innings is challenging, of course it is but we’ll get him through it and continue to back him in the way that we need to because we know when he plays in the fashion that he does, that’s the player we want to have.”

With Trescothick’s contention that Crawley’s form or ability isn’t an issue, the more immediate worry for England’s hierarchy is Ben Stokes’ hamstring. “He'll have a scan this evening or tomorrow morning to try and get a better diagnosis, but obviously it’s in the same hamstring as he’s had before.”

On day one of the Test match Stokes bowled 23 overs, the most he’s ever bowled in a single day of Test cricket, and he’d got through 36.2 in the match by the time he broke down. Such a heavy workload for a 33-year-old who only returned to bowling in October following his August hamstring tear now looks somewhat ill-advised if not reckless. It’s a mistake England are unlikely to repeat. “It may be a case where you manage his bowling loads, and he doesn’t bowl the volume potentially that he’s bowled in this game,” said Trescothick. “But injuries happen, they’ll always be part of the game.” The fear is that the damage has already been done.

With Stokes previously remaining tight-lipped over a possible return to international white-ball cricket, this latest set-back has almost certainly put paid to any aspirations he harboured to join Brendon McCullum’s Champions Trophy squad in February. England Test fans may well see that as a blessing in disguise with such an important year ahead.

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